Chapter 162
The last day of my shift at the main hospital.
“Haa….”
I gathered my things sluggishly, wearing an utterly crestfallen expression.
Kim Ji-hoon, who was receiving handover across from me, clicked his tongue.
“Why do you look so miserable again? It’s your last day, so at least leave with a smile. You look like you’re being dragged to the gallows.”
I tapped the dispatch duty roster displayed on the monitor.
“I’m the only third-year going! I’m the only senior resident among the third-years, so how does that make any sense?”
“That’s true.”
The most senior fourth-years, Kim Jinwoong and Nam Juhyeon, were staying at the main hospital.
If so, they should at least have mixed in some people from our third-year line.
My fellow third-years were Choi Min-jun, Kim Ji-hoon, and Jo Su-yeon.
Every one of them was staying at the main hospital.
Why?
“They’re even making me take two first-years! Am I a babysitter? Huh?”
Yoon Tae-hyun and Kim Seoa.
Of course, I knew they were bright and hardworking, but they were still first-years who needed to be taught everything from one to ten.
“At least Eun-seo is going.”
Kim Ji-hoon offered what was supposed to be consolation.
“Eun-seo is basically a third-year. Think of it as taking one dependable colleague with you. Hang in there.”
“That’s right. Ji-hoon, Eun-seo’s about to overtake you. The speed at which your junior is catching up is terrifying, so watch your spot.”
“Shut the hell up, Han Hyeonjae. There’s a vibe that comes with seniority, you know.”
“Enjoy all that seniority~ Yes, yes.”
Kim Ji-hoon asked with a serious expression.
“But are you really going to be okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re dragging all those junior residents along with you. Will you really have enough backup?”
I waved my hand, pretending to be calm.
“Wouldn’t it still be better than here? It’s still in the early days of opening, so only half the beds are operating, and they haven’t filled all the staff positions. They won’t be able to accept every critically ill patient.”
This was my hopeful line of thinking.
“The system won’t be in place yet, so they won’t be able to perform complicated surgeries. Then they’ll just provide the initial treatment and transfer the patients to a tertiary hospital in Changwon or back here to the main hospital. I’ll come back after taking it easy.”
“Hmm… You think so?”
Kim Ji-hoon tilted his head.
“Please let it be that way. I want to rest.”
“Hmm, I don’t think so.”
Kim Ji-hoon pronounced my death sentence.
“Still, with your skills, you’ll probably manage somehow even there, right?”
That was the problem.
The higher-ups clearly mistook me for a resident practically on the level of a trauma-surgery specialist.
‘Possession has a long, painful penalty after one use, so I can’t use it often.’
It also had a cooldown and side effects.
‘Ji-hoon, I’m actually a water rocket.’
I swallowed those words and finished tidying up before leaving work.
“Hey, Hyeonjae, what’s this? It says ‘dirt’ on the handover sheet.”
“It looked like pica. The patient believes they can become a wizard by eating dirt, but there are no signs of intestinal obstruction on the X-ray, so we’re just observing them. I put in a psychiatry consult, so just leave them alone until the doctor from that department comes. Don’t provoke them.”
Kim Ji-hoon made a thoroughly fed-up expression.
“Hmm… Okay. I more or less get what you’re saying. Nice work.”
“Yeah, you slog away too. I’m leaving.”
I gave Kim Ji-hoon a light tap on the shoulder and left the station.
“Good work!”
I greeted the nurses and stepped out through the emergency medical center’s automatic doors. The air outside was refreshing.
Why was this already my last shift when it was only Monday?
Because the hospital had given me about four days of vacation—or something resembling days off—so I could prepare for the dispatch.
It was a notification disguised as consideration, telling me to pack my things and prepare myself mentally.
“Four days….”
I wanted to glue myself to the floor and sleep, but I had plans this time.
‘I should go to Seoul.’
A family gathering was happening, so I decided to go to Seoul while I was at it.
I could see my parents for the first time in a while and breathe in some Seoul air.
I stopped just after leaving the hospital’s main entrance.
Then I turned around and looked up at the enormous hospital building.
A grand hodgepodge of a building, combining an old concrete structure, a new children’s hospital, and the emergency medical center.
I went to work there every day while cursing it and left as though fleeing, but knowing I wouldn’t see it for two months made me feel strange.
“Well, it is a little old.”
I chuckled.
Let’s see each other alive in two months.
“Stay safe until then. Don’t collapse or cause any trouble.”
I turned away without looking back.
***
The family gathering in Seoul was, to put it mildly… quite the variety show.
I had to sit in the living room and endure a barrage of questions.
“Hyeonjae, I watched that trauma center drama that’s popular these days. They were drilling straight through people’s heads from a helicopter! Do you do things like that too…?”
My younger maternal aunt’s eyes sparkled as she peeled fruit for me.
“I do fly in helicopters, but that’s a neurosurgical technique. And realistically, you should never perform a craniotomy or trepanation in a helicopter that’s rocking like that….”
Hmm, hold on.
There might actually be someone in the gallery who could pull it off.
“No, I don’t.”
My older maternal aunt chimed in, smacking me on the back.
“Are you all right? Your face has gotten so thin. You’re not overworking yourself and staying up all night every day, are you? You said you’re in emergency or something.”
“Emergency medicine. I’m fine. I eat well.”
“You always dreamed of becoming a police officer or firefighter when you were little, but even after becoming a doctor, you still deliberately chose such a difficult path. I heard you could make more money and live comfortably doing something else.”
My aunt’s worried nagging continued.
“Aw, emergency medicine pays pretty well once you start earning a salary. And it’s not even the hardest department.”
Departments like surgery and internal medicine have it pretty rough because they still have to see patients after clocking out.
Compared to them, emergency medicine at least guarantees you proper rest after your shift.
“Goodness, I still can’t help worrying about you.”
Of course, the nagging always ended in a tangible expression of love.
“Take this. Grape juice. They say there’s nothing better for recovering from fatigue.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t get sick.”
Auntie, you’re the best.
But the heartwarming moment was brief, because the most difficult part was still waiting.
It was meeting my younger cousin, who was retaking the college entrance exam.
“Hyung.”
My cousin, who had been huddled in a corner, approached hesitantly with a book in hand.
“How’s studying going?”
“Hyung, could you maybe help me with math…?”
“Math?”
It had been more than ten years since I had last touched mathematics.
Of course, I’d gotten the top grade in Math Type A, but my memories were pretty hazy now.
“I’ve forgotten all my math. Let’s skip it.”
“Ah… Okay.”
To preserve the pride of a top science-track student, I made another suggestion.
“Do you have anything besides that? Maybe one of the science subjects.”
“I’m taking Biology I.”
“Oh! Bio I? Let me see. This body never once missed the top grade in biology, even at an autonomous private high school. Genetics? Cells? Bring it all over.”
I confidently accepted the workbook.
[The following is data concerning the genetic traits of a certain family….]
Hmm, genetics.
I happened to be pretty good at pedigree problems too…
?
“Is this really Biology I?”
“Yes. It’s one of last year’s CSAT killer questions.”
I broke into a cold sweat.
What in the world was this bizarre puzzle?
“Hyung? Can you solve it?”
“Uh….”
I quietly closed the workbook.
Prepare to flee.
RUN.
“I’ve never seen anything like this! They didn’t teach this when I was your age! You don’t even use this in medical school! What is this, science? It’s a puzzle!”
“Hyung! Where are you going?”
“I need to use the bathroom! It’s urgent!”
…
That evening.
My conversation with my parents ended more peacefully than expected.
We sat across from each other at the dinner table, sipping beer, and the subject of my career came up.
“So you’re not going back up to Seoul even after finishing your residency?”
My mother asked.
According to my original plan, I was going to move to Seoul after finishing my residency and work as a paid physician.
My parents had wanted that too.
“Ah, yes. Even if I do go to Seoul, I’d probably try to join a university hospital. Otherwise, I might stay in Busan a little longer.”
I said, fidgeting with my beer can.
“I’ve found something I want to do at a university.”
It was true.
Originally, I had planned to complete exactly four years, become a specialist, and go into private practice.
Most of my seniors had chosen that path, and even if I went into private practice, I’d still be saving people’s lives, given my specialty, wouldn’t I?
But maybe meeting the ghosts had made me go a little crazy.
And there was still so much I needed to learn.
I felt I had to remain at a university hospital until I could break this curse of knowledge.
“The truth is, private practice does pay better. But I still have more studying to do….”
I expected them to object.
To tell me not to take such a difficult path.
“Sigh… Do whatever you want.”
But my mother’s response was surprisingly cool.
“What? Just like that? You’re not going to stop me?”
“What parent would try to stop their son from being stubborn? We only paid for the academies you asked for, and you handled getting into college yourself. I’m sure you’ll figure it out on your own.”
Ah, so you trust me.
“And being a professor comes with prestige too, so that’s nice. As for money, all you need is enough to live on.”
My father chuckled and added his own comment.
“Exactly! Among the Cheongju Hans, I was especially interested in scholarship and came from a distinguished—”
“You’re a high school graduate.”
My mother poured cold water on him.
“Ahem! But my father graduated from Seoul National University…”
“Oh, there you go again. Why are you bragging about your father-in-law being smart? It’s lucky our son took after his grandfather instead of his father.”
“Hey, that’s embarrassing!”
The two of them bickered.
Hmm, the two of them were still very much in love.
I chuckled as I watched them.
My heart felt at ease.
Yes, I hope the path I chose isn’t the wrong one.
***
And just like that, my dreamlike four-day vacation vanished in an instant.
[Busan West Intercity Bus Terminal]
“…Why am I in Sasang?”
Q. Why am I in Sasang, at the far western edge of Busan, instead of Seoul?
A. Because my vacation is over, and now I have to go to Geoje!
What a rotten deal.
“Haa… One ticket to Gohyeon, please.”
“Yes, one adult ticket to Gohyeon. It’s unreserved seating, so you can sit anywhere. The next bus is at 11:40, and you can follow the directions on the ticket to the boarding gate.”
I took the ticket the clerk handed me.
Bound for Geoje’s Gohyeon Bus Terminal.
‘Haa….’
And so I trudged toward the boarding platform, dragging a suitcase packed at my officetel in Busan.
I’ll sleep on the bus.
‘I need to conserve my energy so I can unpack after I get there and report to work the next day.’
I put in my earphones and tried to cut myself off from the world when—
“Oh, Doctor! So you were here!”
“…?”
A far-too-familiar voice reached my ears.
No way.
Surely not.
I slowly turned my head.
Standing there was Smart Baek, wearing an utterly radiant expression.
And in one of her hands was—
[Suggestions for Standardizing the Main Mechanisms of Injury and Initial Treatment for Severe Trauma Patients in Coastal Industrial Areas]
a thick stack of papers whose title alone made me want to throw up.
“Doctor! I found some material to look at on the way! I thought it would be good to make a protocol in advance before we go!”
Baek Eun-seo said, her eyes sparkling.
An unspoken pressure urging me to sit beside her.
A signal that she wanted to discuss it with me for the entire one-hour-and-twenty-minute bus ride.
“Ah.”
A groan escaped me.
“Doctor? Can you hear me? The crush syndrome section here is really interesting!”
“Uh… Yeah, Eun-seo. Let’s get on the bus. We’ll talk once we’re on….”
I prayed desperately to the heavens.
Please, just let me rest on the way.
I haven’t even started my shift yet.